Pimax 5K/8K arriving to backers

[VR CobraCommander]

Thanks for the reply Mr Teatime.

It was indeed a usb issue, which the Pimax forum helpfully pointed out to me.

Now that I've got my 8K working it's time to get on with using it in ED. Only problem is I've hardly any time between visiting relatives and back to work (only got Xmas day off) [sad]

Still, Merry Christmas everyone !

 

[Herbrand]

Backer #711 received my 5K+ on the 24th of December. While I'm on holidays abroad. It will be a loooong wait until the 2nd week of January...

 

[VR CobraCommander]

Happy New Year to all Commanders,

Thought I would give you an update on my Pimax 8K that arrived just before Xmas. Unfortunately I have only managed to get a few hours with it due to real life getting in the way, and this is just my impressions rather than a facts and figures report.
Also, my previous VR HMD was the Pimax 4K with 3dof, so I can't compare it to a Vive or Rift.

First off, it came well packed and when taken out the box I was surprised at how light it was. Actually, the attached cable felt heavier than the headset. It is the cloth headstrap that is shipped with it, which is quite comfortable, but the delux headstrap must be getting shipped later.
The HMD is very comfortable to wear, but although I don't wear glasses it looks like it would be quite a close fit to the lenses if you were wearing glasses.

My computer has an i7 5960x CPU, GTX 1080 Ti, with 32Gb ram. I've not had time to do a lot of tweaking of settings, so I've been using 150 degrees (Normal) FoV, Pitool rendering of 1.5 and Steam VR at 100.

Playing Elite the wide FoV is AMAZING ! What a difference. It's been said existing HMDs are like looking though a diving mask, while the 5K/8K is like looking through ski goggles. I think this is a very accurate description.

The colours are fine, and black seems to black, so no complaints there. Starport interiors seem a bit washed out, but that is a general complaint since the 3.3 upgrade.
There is a slight screendoor effect, which is a surprise to me as it wasn't noticeable in the 4K, although it's not bad enough to be something I'm bothered about.
The clarity is superb, with all in game text very clear. I was a bit worried about the clarity in the 8K, especially when everyone was saying the 5K+ was so clear, but I can honestly say to anyone concerned about 5K+ or 8K clarity that it isn't an issue as far as I'm concerned. I think it may be the clarity that allows the screen door effect to be seen, as it's most noticeable in text, where as with my 4K there was no screen door effect but text was quite blurry.

The game runs smoothly in stations, space, hyperspace, and planet surfaces. I didn't put up the onscreen fps so I can't give any figures, but I didn't notice any slowdown or stutters.

The only downside I've came across so far is that the unit can get warm in use, which can get a bit sweaty after a while. A cooling fan was one of the kickstarter achievement goals (if I remember correctly) which should help, when it gets shipped.

All in all, I'm very impressed by the Pimax 8K, and more than happy with my Kickstarter backing.

Hope this has been of help to anyone interested in Pimax VR.

 

[Red River]

I have p4k as well and text isn't blurry at all and everything quite sharp in ED
like you said no SDE either.

could be your settings?

 

[VR CobraCommander]

I have p4k as well and text isn't blurry at all and everything quite sharp in ED
like you said no SDE either.

could be your settings?

With the P4K I found most text like Station Services, cockpit GUIs, and close up HUD to be easily readable, but not crystal clear. The far away text like targets or nav points were quite blurry and difficult to read. But no SDE.
Having said that I was happy to use the 4K as my first VR headset. Possibly my settings could have been tweaked a bit more.

As for the Pimax 8K all text is clear and the sweet spot for reading that text is huge, compared to the 4K.
While deciding whether to choose the 8K or 5K+ options from Pimax I was really worried about the text readability of the 8K, since most screen shots showed blurry text and the overwhelming reviews saying how clear the 5K+ was.
However, I'm now glad I choose the 8K, and can assure anyone with similar doubts that the view is clear and text is crystal clear.
There is some SDE, which is noticeable but it isn't that bad. Again some tweaks to the settings may improve that, but I haven't had a lot of time to experiment. Also, Pimax are still working on the software, which could give improvements as well.